Brandon Crawford went through a high-intensity pregame routine and hit against an anonymous prospect the Giants brought to San Francisco for the day to send him heaters, but remains on the injured list.
Crawford, 36, is listed on the Giants’ official medical update as “doing all baseball activities without any restrictions.” He became eligible to come off the 10-day injured list for left knee inflammation on Friday, but the Giants did not activate him.
“I think every day, when a player’s coming off an injury, every day that goes by you get a little bit healthier, little bit fresher, little bit stronger,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. “We want Craw to be at his very best when he comes off.”
Friday could have been a nice landing spot to return Crawford, with right-handed starter Kutter Crawford taking the ball for Boston. But rookie Marco Luciano will start at shortstop with Brett Wisely next to him at second.
Crawford is hitting .207 with a .618 OPS this season — both his lowest marks since his rookie year. But the Giants have been left with three rookies in Luciano, Wisely and Casey Schmitt in his and Thairo Estrada’s absence.
On Friday, Crawford took grounders and took live batting practice against Brayan Palencia, a pitcher who has played for the Giants’ Complex League teams.
It’s unclear how long Luciano will be up with the Giants — much of that will be determined by his performance — but there’s a path in which he fits as a complement to Crawford. Luciano took grounders at second base, which could become an option for him once Crawford returns.
“You know how we feel about getting players prepared for any position that might pop up, and not feel caught off-guard or surprised by anything,” Kapler said. “We just want him to have all the tools around the bag as a second baseman. It’s not the first time he’s taken ground balls there. But just getting him familiar with the moves, gives us some flexibility late in games, particularly given the possibility that both he and Craw are both on the roster at the same time.”
- Outfielder Mitch Haniger has begun hitting off a tee and initiated his fielding progression. His right forearm fracture has sidelined him since June 13.
Haniger expressed optimism that he could return around his return date of Aug. 13.
“I think the goal is to make it back that 10-week mark, where I was told that’s what they thought,” Haniger said. “I think if all things continue to go well, I could be back before then. That’s exciting.”
The Aug. 1 trade deadline is fast-approaching, and the Giants are one of several contending teams expected to be active. But with Haniger, Crawford and Estrada eventually returning, the Giants will also get reinforcements internally.
“Hopefully we improve at the deadline, and I know we’ll improve after,” Haniger said.
- The Red Sox are in town at Oracle Park for the first time since 2016. At that point, Kapler was in the Dodgers’ front office and Alex Cora, Boston’s manager, was a bench coach for the Astros. They were once teammates with the Red Sox.
The Giants will play the Red Sox — and every other team — annually based on the new balanced schedule.
“I think it’s a good thing for baseball that the Red Sox and Giants are playing,” Kapler said. That’s a very cool thing. You have two very committed, very passionate fan bases on two separate coasts, with much different styles. Different style of fan, different style city. But long, long, right history. Like, two very original franchises. Just kind of cool as a fan of the game, I like seeing their uniform and our uniform.”
- Keaton Winn, who has pitched for the Giants and Sacramento River Cats this year, felt soreness in his throwing elbow after his most recent Triple-A start. He’ll be examined this weekend in San Francisco by team specialist Dr. Ken Akizuki.
- Mauricio Llovera, whom the Giants traded to the Red Sox this week after designated him for assignment, could factor into this series. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported that Boston plans to activate him on Saturday.